Neil Gaiman Thinks 'American Gods' Is More Relevant Than Ever

Neil Gaiman’s mangum opus American Gods might contain fantastical elements like talking birds and death by vagina, but it captures the mood of much of America. And weirdly enough, as Gaiman pointed out in a recent interview, the decade-plus lag time between the book and the television adaptation only helps.

“If anything, I feel like I was writing about stuff that was in the wind, and the wind has just been concentrating over the past 20 years,” he told Wired. The book first came out in 2001, which makes sixteen years before its onscreen appearance.

“It doesn’t feel dated,” Gaiman said of the show.

This is partly because the show is getting timely updates like a makeover for Mad Sweeney or a God of Guns. But one thing the show can’t change is its basic concept. And in particular, he wryly cited the example of writing a story about con men aiming to trick America.

Gaiman couldn’t have predicted his story would appear onscreen in a version of America in which a con man is in the White House. A reality show star who had a fake university scam sounds like something directly out of his story. Even without its heavy focus on immigration, American Gods could be the perfect show for Trump’s America.